


muscle memory

by mrmurdocks



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (sort of), Ambiguous Relationships, Confusion, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Insomnia, Light Angst, M/M, Sharing a Bed, chris is soft and warm and wonderful, even though they were never really apart in the first place but still, like it's practically nonexistent, pj is tired and confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 14:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11443119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrmurdocks/pseuds/mrmurdocks
Summary: PJ can’t fall asleep in unfamiliar places. Chris shows up at his hotel room door & and they fall back into old habits.(featuring a tired, confused PJ and a Chris who knows PJ better than he knows himself, even after all these years.)





	muscle memory

PJ loved being in Los Angeles, but God, he was exhausted. It had been almost a month since he left home, and between VidCon and filming schedules and the general effort of existing among Americans 24/7, he was worn out. Yet somehow he still couldn’t sleep.

He had tried every trick, read every advice article, and drank every flavor of tea that was supposed to help him sleep (although America’s selection of tea was incredibly lacking). Nothing helped: PJ just couldn’t fall asleep in unfamiliar places. He had hoped that he would be able to get some rest after a few days in America, but here he was, still wide awake.

He glanced at the clock - it was nearly 3:30 in the morning. PJ groaned. He had to be on set by seven and he had to leave even earlier than that, so there was no point in trying to fall asleep anymore. Oh well, this wouldn’t be the first time he had a sleepless night in LA. He sat up and turned on the lamp next to his bed, illuminating the hotel room. Even after two and a half weeks, the room still felt unwelcoming. No other place could ever match the comfort of his home in Brighton.

He walked over to the small table where his laptop was, thinking he could probably find something productive to do with his time until he had to start getting ready. He was about to sit down when there was a soft knock at the door. Who else would be up this early? PJ plodded over to the door and opened it, squinting into the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the hallway. It was Chris. Of course it was Chris.

“Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to let me in?” Chris asked. “I’m not wearing any pants, so I’d recommend deciding quickly.”

PJ’s heart skipped a beat and he looked down, relieved to see that Chris was wearing boxers, at least. PJ stepped aside and opened the door, letting Chris into the hotel room.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” Chris asked, sitting down on PJ’s bed.

“No,” PJ said. “No, I couldn’t sleep.”

“I figured. Hotel rooms have never really been friendly to you, have they?”

“Nope.” PJ just looked at Chris, who was climbing under the covers in PJ’s bed. His hair was sticking up all over the place and he was wearing a red t-shirt that was just a little too big for him, and it hung lopsidedly on his shoulders. PJ had to drag his eyes away.

“Well, aren’t you going to at least try to sleep?” Chris asked. He patted the bed next to him, and before PJ knew what he was doing, he walked over to Chris. A tiny voice in the back of his mind was yelling _no, don’t do that_ , but PJ was too tired to care.

Chris leaned over and turned off the light, then he settled in next to PJ, pulling the covers over both of them. He was taller now; they both were. But it was still familiar - PJ’s face pressed into Chris’s chest, Chris’s arm around him. If PJ closed his eyes he could pretend like it was still 2011, the past six years were all a dream, and nothing had changed. But things had changed. He sighed into Chris’s shirt.

PJ knew he shouldn’t be doing this, making things more confusing for himself. He couldn’t help it; being next to Chris like this was muscle memory. He remembered countless times when he was at university and he and Chris squeezed together on his tiny, cheap mattress. Back when things were less confusing. Back when he didn’t bother to worry about things like viewers and labels and -

“Hey,” Chris said. “You alright?”

PJ just mumbled and leaned in closer to Chris. Even after all these years, even after everything that happened, Chris still knew him so, so well. And PJ’s muddled brain didn’t know what to do with that information.

“Try to get some sleep, okay?”

“M’kay,” PJ mumbled. Chris pressed a soft kiss to the side of his forehead and ran a hand through his hair, and PJ practically melted. He couldn’t think of anything but the feeling of Chris next to him and the scent of Chris’s cologne, faded by a day’s worth of activity, but just enough to draw PJ in and leave him wanting more. God, he missed this. He couldn’t remember why they had ever stopped.

But his tired brain seemed to take that as a challenge, because suddenly PJ was drowning in old memories and he remembered everything. How he had gotten confused, how things had happened too quickly all at once, and how everything was on display for millions of people to watch. It was all just too much. He couldn’t -

“Peej, just try to get some rest, okay?” Chris murmured. He settled his arm over PJ’s waist and started to lazily trace shapes on his lower back. A star, a cloud, a planet - anything to help PJ fall asleep. PJ relaxed, letting go of old thoughts and focusing on Chris again. Everything always came back to Chris.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened, either. Chris had an uncanny ability to show up just when PJ needed him most, which felt like it was becoming more and more often. He would appear at PJ’s door, and then they would spend the night like this - limbs tangled, lips almost touching, hearts beating as one. And then the next morning Chris would leave and PJ would spend the whole day in a confused daze, just for it to happen all over again a few days later.

PJ knew he was going to have to talk to Chris and figure this out, but that was a problem for the well-rested version of himself the next morning. Right now he just wanted to cuddle up closer to Chris and drift off to sleep. Maybe lying next to Chris like this was just because of muscle memory, but isn’t the heart a muscle too?

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic, so please be brutal in the comments because I need to get better! 
> 
> you can come talk to me on tumblr @ [softpeej](http://softpeej.tumblr.com/) or [sunbuckys](http://sunbuckys.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
